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Electronic music predates DJ culture, and that experimental side of the genre is still alive and well on the Big Ears Festival 2025 lineup.
If you’re a fan of the electronic music popular today, Big Ears Festival might not be on your radar. But it should — especially if your tastes have started to mature.
This genre is bigger than DJs and dancefloors. Further upstream from the rise of disco — and the echoes of it that can still be felt at EDM gatherings today — artists explored more freeform and experimental tangents. Some of them never stopped. Big Ears is as good a platform for these innovators as any, billing them alongside such eclectic luminaries as Béla Fleck, Sun Ra Arkestra, and Les Claypool’s Bastard Jazz.
If you find yourself tiring of most electronic music’s homogeneity, attending Big Ears Festival 2025 can show you another side of the genre. Read on for five acts we recommend checking out at this year’s edition of the event in Knoxville, Tennessee on March 27-30.
An Electronic Music Fan’s Guide to the Big Ears Festival 2025 Lineup:
Darkside
Darkside are an electronic music duo consisting of Dave Harrington and Nicolas Jaar, the latter of whom needs no introduction among fans of the genre’s sophisticated side. Ever since he released his debut 2011 album, Space Is Only Noise, his rise has been punctuated by concept albums, film scores, and BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix appearances. His and Harrington’s Darkside project is equally deserving; its 2013 debut album, Psychic, received a rare 9.0 rating by Pitchfork.
Steve Roach
One of the earliest innovators in ambient music, Steve Roach released his debut album, Now, all the way back in 1982. His use of artful noise and cinematic melodies via synthesizers, sequencers, drum machines and more traditional instruments has informed electronic musicians of all walks ever since. For an idea of what he might bring to Big Ears, listen to his October 2024 album, Crossing the Bridge – Live in Boulder.
Michael Rother
Michael Rother was a member of highly influential German electronic music group Kraftwerk all the way back in 1971. Be that as it may, he is perhaps better known for his contributions to the bands Neu! and Harmonia, each of which offered up similarly important records of the era in German pop culture. More recently, Rother delivered the 2020 solo album Dreaming, his first new release in 16 years.
Anti Pop Consortium
Bridging the worlds of hip-hop and experimental electronic music, Anti Pop Consortium has effectively pushed the boundaries of both genres since releasing their debut 2000 album, Tragic Epilogue. Their unique style pairs improvisational live PA and controllerism with profound lyrics typically laden with social commentary. The group have been credited for influencing the likes of Run The Jewels, Death Grips, and Moor Mother.
Immersion
Immersion is a collaborative project between Colin Newman of Wire and Minimal Compact’s Malka Spigel. Expansive and unrestrained, their output smacks of the rock and indie music at their roots while often extending outward into experimental soundscapes that are more difficult to categorize. Songs like “State of Motion,” “Riding the Wave,” and “Cross Pollination” speak to the wide creative range captured in their performances.
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